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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27029974">The Cut of Her Jib</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitTankSparkling/pseuds/RabbitTankSparkling'>RabbitTankSparkling</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MakoAnn Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Pirates, Romance, its like 2 sentences, mild violence, no beta we die like ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 17:26:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27029974</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitTankSparkling/pseuds/RabbitTankSparkling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Pirate, thief, and professional scoundrel Makoto Niijima finds herself captured by the British Navy. But who's this attractive blonde she's sharing a cell with?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Niijima Makoto/Takamaki Ann</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>MakoAnn Week 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965244</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>MakoAnnWeek2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Cut of Her Jib</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> Come to the Caribbean, </em> they said. <em> Easy pickings and fine weather, </em> they said. And it had been, for the first fortnight or so. Right up until the tip about a Spanish treasure fleet had sailed Makoto straight into an ambush by half the damned British armada, at least. So here she sat, stuck in the brig of an oversized English crab pot, heading off to god-knows-where, trying to figure out how she would avoid being hanged when she got there. From the scraps of English she could pick up from the guards outside the door, they were headed for Kingston.</p><p>The sound of shouting from outside perked her ears up. Sound of shuffling and shouting, probably another captive being dragged down here and--</p><p>Wait, were they speaking <em> Japanese? </em></p><p>“...Fuckin’ assholes! You just wait ‘till I get out of here, then you’ll be findin’ out what the underside of this dinghy looks like!” The door opened with a clang, and for a moment Makoto considered making a break for it before thinking better of the idea. Handy as she was with her fists, she didn’t fancy her chances against a fully crewed brig. The new prisoner was shoved to the ground quickly, landing on her rear end with an unceremonious thud as the door slammed shut again. As the woman sat up, still spitting curses, the bandanna holding her hair back came loose and--</p><p>
  <em> Oh, christ. </em>
</p><p>Flax-golden hair, prettier than it had any right to be, tumbled down her back, and Makoto caught a glance of the side of her face; cheekbones high enough to sharpen a blade on, and eyes the color of a clear sky.</p><p>“You’re Japanese?” was the first thing Makoto decided to blurt out, and by god, it felt nice to speak without fumbling over English for once. The other woman turned to look at her, and Makoto felt her heart flutter at the sight.</p><p>“Half Japanese, aye. Born’n raised in Sendai. You?” In her periphery, Makoto could see the stranger already fiddling with her manacles.</p><p>“Osaka,” she replied. “Came over a few weeks back, got surprised while we were trying to pick off a Spanish treasure fleet.”</p><p>The other woman laughed, loud and unrepentant, and Makoto couldn’t keep the smile off her face at the sound. “You too, huh? What rotten luck.” She sighed, and Makoto turned her attention back to the room around her. There had to be <em> something </em> in here they could use. By the sounds of the wind outside and the steady heave of the ship, Makoto could make an educated guess that rough weather was inbound, and that might be just the distraction she needed.</p><p>Her eye caught on a large spike protruding from a support beam in the center of the room. Stumbling to her feet, she hooked the central bar of her manacles over the thing and took a deep breath.</p><p>
  <em> One, two… heave! </em>
</p><p>Makoto pulled down with all her might, and with a sharp crack the manacles snapped apart. The wrist clamps came apart easily without anything to hold them together, and as Makoto turned to do the same for her cellmate, her breath caught at the surprised look and light dusting of pink that adorned the blonde’s face.</p><p>“You’re <em> strong, </em>” she breathed, silent for a moment before seemingly catching herself and scrambling to her feet. With Makoto’s help, she was quickly freed as well, and Makoto couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined the other woman’s fingers lingering on her arm afterwards. </p><p>“So, what’s the plan?” The blonde peeked out the nearest window, pacing from one end of the cell to the other. “By the looks, there’s only this ship around. There’s more prisoners onboard, too.” She smiled at Makoto, and her grin was crooked and proud. “I reckon we free the rest, take the ship and make for Nassau. Think you’re up for it?”</p><p>Makoto returned the grin, cracking her knuckles. “Aye. It’s this or hanging, and I owe these bastards a fight. You have an idea to get us out of this cell?”</p><p>The woman winked, and Makoto had to remind herself to breathe. She gestured to the door, sidling up next to it, just out of view of the window, and Makoto filled in the space adjacent. “Name’s Ann, by the way,” she whispered.</p><p>“Makoto,” she responded, and it was only in these close quarters that she realized how much taller Ann was than her.</p><p>“Once the door’s open, we go. I’ll lead us to the other cells, then we go topside and make her ours. Oh, and…” She trailed off, and Makoto’s heart stopped beating as she felt Ann’s long fingers tilt her chin up. The brunette had one electric second to panic before the taller woman pressed her lips to Makoto’s. She pulled back after what could have been seconds or hours, with that same cocksure grin on her face. “For luck,” she stated effortlessly.</p><p>Makoto was silent for a moment, then decided to at least make the best of what might be the last few minutes of her life. Her left hand found the back of Ann’s head, threading her fingers in that gold-spun hair, pulling her back in for another kiss. “For you, too,” she said, breathlessly moving to the other side of the door. The dazed and, dare she hoped, <em> impressed </em> look on Ann’s face was all the balm her nerves needed.</p><p>
  
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Seeing Ann wrestle a saber away from a guard, run him through, then grab his pistol and shoot another guard made Makoto wonder if she was out of her league.</p><p>Seeing the look on Ann’s face when Makoto headbutted a guard hard enough to break his nose and knock him unconscious quelled those fears.</p><p>At one point they rounded a corner, seemingly to the officer’s quarters, and on the table Makoto spied the glorious, wonderful hat that had been taken from her upon capture. She dashed for it, giddy to reclaim it, only to whiff her grab as Ann plucked it off the desk, perching it atop her own head.</p><p>“What do you think?” Ann grinned like the devil. “I think it suits me.”</p><p>Makoto chuckled. “I’d agree with that.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The rest of the freed prisoners were just about done stowing the captive Brits in the hold at this point. The takeover had been a rousing success, with Makoto taking the former captain’s jacket as a prize. She stood at the helm, Ann leaning on the rail beside her.</p><p>“I’ve never seen anyone sail through a storm like that.” She kept her gaze fixed on the clear blue horizon as she spoke. Makoto let a wide grin show on her face. She was <em> good </em> at sailing, and damned proud of it. “What are you doing next?”</p><p>“Nassau, wasn’t it?” Makoto had figured they were around half a day out from the pirate’s haven. The brig was in decent shape, but the storm had wracked her, and Makoto didn’t want to be on the water longer than she had to.</p><p>“After that, though.” The sea breeze tugged gently at Ann’s hair, flicking strands up this way and that. “I’ve been thinking, and I’ll be damned if I’m letting a woman like you out of my sight for a second.” She glanced back at Makoto with a grin. “This brig’s ours by rights. What’s say we see what kind of trouble we can make with her?”</p><p>Makoto’s heart beat hard in her chest. A wind picked up from the southeast as a smile split her face. “I could live with that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>vesta is obsessed with pirates so naturally this was the only possible fill for the AU prompt</p><p>check out the full resolution of the art here! https://twitter.com/portbow/status/1316816790840696832</p></blockquote></div></div>
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